Defense Cuts? In a Time of War?

The Party is showing its true colors. The far left is demanding their pound of flesh for hiding those colors long enough to get The Party elected.

The left leaning Center for American Progress released a blueprint for defense policy and force plans for the incoming Obama administration. The report calls defense spending "out of control" and calls for big cuts in weapons programs. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dodbuzz/~3/482001456/

And Reprehensible Murtha is leading the way:

Powerful Pennsylvania congressman Jack Murtha, chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, said the Pentagon must prepare for smaller budgets and that potential spending cuts will likely come from the personnel side.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dodbuzz/~3/480996310/

We need a strong Representative to stand up to these far left members of The Party. The DNC has been taken over by the extreme; the Idealists of California, the Elitists of New York, and the Corrupt of Chicago. Murtha has demonstrated his disdain for small town America and for the Military, while clinging to his veteran status. He has forgotten whatever values the Marines managed to teach him.

But he is not the first of The Party to call for cuts to the Military in a Time of War. Reprehensible Frank led the charge before him, before the elections, before we sent him the support he needs to push it through, back to Congress.

" NEW BEDFORD — After the November election, Democrats will push for a second economic stimulus package that includes money for the states' stalled
infrastructure projects, along with help paying for healthcare expenses, food stamps and extended unemployment benefits, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank said Thursday.

In a meeting with the editorial board of The Standard-Times, Rep. Frank, D-Mass., also called for a 25 percent cut in military spending, saying the Pentagon has to start choosing from its many weapons programs, and that upper-income taxpayers are going to see an increase in what they are asked to pay."
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081024/NEWS/810240332/-1/NEWS10

But these members of the extreme left wing cannot push through these measures without the support of The Party members, such as the Blue Dog Democrats, like Rep. Gordon.

I served in the Military during the Clinton years and I entered while there were still significant Veterans serving from the Carter years. I know how bad things were during those times. I, at times, spent my paycheck to buy equipment needed but not available because of budget cuts. Rucksacks and, even camouflage face paint, were simply unavailable. Training was cut back significantly. I fear the next four years will be worse, if we don't have a Representative willing to stand up to the extremes of The Party.

Clinton and Carter presided over a different time though. It was the perception of the Nation that we were not at war. It was perceived that the world was a safer place and we could make cuts in Defense. They cut it too far and they forced the Military to spend the money they did give on the wrong things. So, when Clinton called on the Military, they didn't have the tools they needed.

And when 9/11 was thrust upon us, when we finally no longer had the option of ignoring terrorism, Our Military did not have body armor, did not have armored HumVees, and faced an uphill battle. It took years to recover to the level of readiness required to win.

But we are at war now. We are spending less of our GDP on the Military now than we did when we won the Cold War. We have a smaller military, doing everything that is asked of them, no matter how stretched they are, no matter how great the sacrifice asked of them. This is not the time to cut personnel and equipment for the Military to do that job.

If there is one thing that the Federal Government is tasked to do, it is to provide for the United Defense of the States.

Representative Gordon: as a Veteran, as an American, as a Citizen, you must oppose this movement from within The Party. Our Congress can not return to pre-9/11 head in the sand mentalities. We are watching. The Common Sense Citizens of Middle Tennessee will not stand for putting Our Troops in the Unemployment lines while you try to salvage UAW salaries. We can not allow Our Military to be cut at the very time they are stretched thin, while they defend our freedoms in the deserts of Afghanistan and Iraq, while Murtha and Frank attack the good people of the small towns and the Marines that defend them.

Tennessee Taylor©2008, TNT, all rights reserved.

Supporting Our Troops Decisively

Education prepares one to capitalize on Experience, but there is no substitute for Experience.

In the Military, We constantly trained for a job we as a Nation and as Soldiers hoped would never be needed. We have the best trained and best equipped Military in the world. Having worked with troops of other Nations, I can tell you that we have the best Military in the World, with only our allies able to challenge that ranking. There is only one force in the World that can defeat Our Military: The US Congress.

Our Volunteer force is a key part of that. Our Military is Professional and upholds the Law of Land Warfare. We have taken Honor in Uniform to the highest of levels.

When I joined the Army, there were few Viet Nam Veterans left in it and they garnered great respect. We hoped that we could learn from their experience. A few years later, we gained some of that experience in Desert Storm. And by the time we went to Afghanistan, there were few Desert Storm Veterans still in. Today, most of Our Military has experience in warfare.

Our Generals have trained for decades and are experienced in leading men on the battlefield. No amount of intelligence nor learning can substitute for that experience and training. It doesn't matter if one is a genius and graduated the top of his Harvard Law Class if he is not the General on The Ground, he has no business dictating the tactics of the mountains of Afghanistan.

The mean streets of Washington are distant from those of Baghdad and Bagram. The air-conditioned offices of DC do not substitute for the realities of Kandahar, Kabul, and the Hindu Kush.

Politicians are NOT Generals and nothing in Washington can substitute for the knowledge of the battlefield Our Generals experience. Our Politicians have committed us to war. They owe Our Generals and Our Troops the full support to Succeed in what they have asked of Our Military.

When a Veteran becomes a Politician, he brings many experiences to Washington, but the most important is the knowledge that he is not a General. The Battlefield Commander must be afforded the tools, the people, and the equipment to get the job done.

A Combat Veteran understands what he is asking of Our Brothers, Sisters, Mothers, Fathers, Sons, & Daughters. A Combat Veteran has risked all and sacrificed much in keeping this Nation Free. When he weighs the question of asking the same of the next generation, he does so with the knowledge of how much is being asked and against the threat that is posed. But once committed, he understands the Nation and Our Politicians must be behind Our Troops and provide them the tools to succeed.

When you ask our troops their thoughts on the War, one of the loudest complaints is that the News is not telling the whole story. The News does not tell of Our Successes. The News does not tell of Our Generosity. The News does not tell of Our Honor.

This has led to a false perception that things are worse than they are. It has allowed for our politicians to use Our Troops for political gain. They have used the sympathies of the American People to undermine the very thing they claim to be supporting. The politicians of California and New York have held hostage the Defense Budget for political gain. And lock step with them, have been the party adherents who have become their followers, not our leaders.

What we see in Washington today is akin to a Freshman Art student telling our seasoned Farmers to plant their seeds in January because we need to send vegetables to the stores in March, while at the same time dictating the type of equipment to be used, because they read an article in Outdoor Living.